Chapter 106 - Critical Perception Failure
The upcoming conversation is looking to be a long one, and you'd rather not have the kids linger awkwardly in front of their school the whole time. You end up settling on a small, long-abandoned park where you and the children can sit down. It's a nice place, though too out of the way for people to take time out of their days to visit. Especially with how many other parks are scattered across the city. Really, it's kind of wasteful.
You clear your throat as the kids settle in. They all display varying levels of confusion, save for Homura who remains completely stoic as usual. Hitomi is the most uncertain, which is understandable. She did call her parents to tell them she'd be delayed in returning home, as all the kids did, so she is interested in what you might have to say. You're not sure if you're thankful for the convenience or worried at the level of naivety, but that's not for you to deal with.
"Should Hitomi be here for this?" Sayaka chimes in. "She isn't…"
Hitomi crumples a bit, looking around at the other kids in a sort of daze. All of them display various stages of shame or embarrassment, with exception to Homura and Kyoko who seem to be paying attention on principle alone.
"That's exactly what I'm hoping to address." you declare authoritatively. "Just because Hitomi isn't a as involved as you are doesn't mean she's completely exempt from things. As we've already seen, innocent people can suffer from the supernatural just as easily as those with the power to defend themself." The kids wince at the reminder of Hitomi's poisoning. It must have been a deeply unpleasant occurrence, an intrusion into what they had thought was their private life.
"Excuse me, but what is all this? And what did you mean by 'supernatural'?'" Hitomi finally asks, overcome by her curiosity. It's all the invitation you've been waiting for.
In a burst of silvery starlight, your rapier appears in your outstretched hand. It's a beautiful weapon, dark azure steel dotted with starry marks forming a constellation pattern across the jagged hilt and all the way up to the tip of the blade. The sword seems to trail a stretch of the night sky behind it as you jab the tip into the ground, scattering shattered constellations through the air. Another though, and a cape of darkness filled with starlight whips out behind you. You don't actually need to manifest most of your EGO armor to receive its benefits most of the time, but now the theatrics help more than anything.
"Magic is real."
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"This is… a lot to take in." Hitomi says with an exhausted laugh. It seems as though the sheer absurdity of everything is starting to get to her. "I was actually attacked by a monster from another world?"
"Indeed." You nod. "If possible, I would like to inform your parents as well. They deserve the peace of mind that would come from knowing the truth behind your sudden illness. I'm afraid there's little I can do about your classmates barring drastic actions, like wiping their memories of the whole incident. For what it's worth, I'm sorry you were caught up in this whole mess.
"No, I cannot accept such an apology." Hitomi says, shaking her head. "The fault is not yours. I was only poisoned because of my own inattentiveness, regardless of the source."
Well, you can see where this is going. For somebody so placid, Hitomi's got a proper spine. You can see why she gets along so well with Madoka and Sayaka.
As if sensing your thoughts, the aforementioned bluenette opens her mouth. "Man, you would've made a great Magical Girl. Shame about the Karmic Potential thing."
"Magical Girl?" Hitomi repeats.
Suddenly, five pairs of eyes lock onto Sayaka. Madoka seems embarrassed on her friend's behalf. Mami and Kyoko both stare in surprise at the young Magical Girl. Homura, oddly, has broken her normal passivity to reveal an expression of complete and utter exhaustion. Sayaka stares back at the crowd, confused.
You hadn't actually mentioned Magical Girls yet in that conversation. Sayaka, it seems, forgot that fact.
[] Explain things
[] Leave it at that
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Der Freischütz's Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
Porccubus' Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
CENSORED's Sapling - Observation Level EXPUNGED/REDACTED
Because it wouldn't be a PMMM story without Sayaka making a poor decision at some point. At least this is relatively harmless.
Exposition isn't fun to write, so this chapter is very short. It's probably not very interesting to read, either. Maybe next chapter will be better? Probably not. At least I have some more exciting stuff queued up for later.